Month: December 2016

These Failing Companies Will Finally Disappear in 2017

Companies fail for all sorts of reasons – changing political climate, controversy, lack of consumer interest, technology, the list goes on …

But the real shockers are when the companies you grew up with call it quits. Or when the high-profile startups that the media said would never fail, fail.

These are the companies that affect consumers most when they go under, and can cost investors a lot of money if they aren’t ahead of the crowd.

So we’ve compiled a list of five failing companies that most likely won’t be around by the end of 2017.

The list includes one company embroiled in scandal and a multinational business that has been a household name in America for over 130 years…

Failing Company No. 5: Theranos

The health technology company famously dubbed for having the next Steve Jobs as CEO is now in serious trouble.

The downfall started with a scathing article by The Wall Street Journal in October 2015. The article revealed the inconsistencies in the micro-sized blood sampling machinery Theranos used – and the $9 billion startup began to crumble.

In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services stated that the company had “put patients in immediate jeopardy” by claiming that the device was more effective than it actually was found to be. Recommendations and analyses based on the results of Theranos’ lab tests became jeopardized.

As a result of the CMS’ investigation, regulators barred Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of Theranos, from owning or operating a medical laboratory for a minimum of two years.

In compliance with the sanctions, Theranos announced it would close its laboratories and wellness centers in October. Additionally, the company would lay off over 40% of its workforce.

Theranos now faces lawsuits from several ex-customers, investors, and a criminal investigation by the FBI. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) is suing the company for $140 million.

Since Theranos’ most well-known service, laboratory testing, is off of the table, it is not expected to survive the next year.

“I don’t see a path forward for the company,” stated David Nichols, president of the Nichols Management Group, a consultant to and operator of clinical laboratories, in July.

Renewable energy company stocks have been struggling since the surprise victory of Donald Trump, who disavows climate change and has pledged to “cancel all wasteful climate change spending by the government” in his policy statement on Oct. 31. Solar energy producers currently receive a 30% investment tax credit.

That’s why shares of First Solar came under pressure after Trump won the election, dropping over 26% in just one month.

The company forecasts sales in 2017 to be well below estimates. In order to cut costs, 27% of its workforce will be cut over the next year.

A 30% slide in prices is to blame for the company’s failure. Low demand in China has resulted in a surplus of panels globally, placing pressure on the company to get rid of the product. Customers have delayed signing contracts in hope of further price declines, according to a statement by First Solar to shareholders on Nov. 2.

The website that changed the way user-generated content is used for travel is feeling the pressure from competition.

Year to date, the company’s stock price has fallen over 42%. Meanwhile, its competitors’ share prices have increased during the same period. The Travelzoo Inc. (Nasdaq: TZOO) share price has gained 41% YTD, and Priceline Group Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN) has gained over 19%.

The company also missed both revenue and earnings estimates this year, and here’s why…

TripAdvisor’s problem is getting users of the website to follow through with transactions without leaving the page. TripAdvisor’s revenue per shopper, which is an important growth measure, is a mere $0.45, according to Forbes. This reflects a 12% year-over-year decline for the company.

People may be using TripAdvisor to find the best deals, but they aren’t actually purchasing on the site. The company will have to create compelling incentives to get consumers to book on their site over the next year in order to stay afloat.

“If the company is not able to make a turnaround, then there might be serious questions whether TripAdvisor can continue on its own or could become an acquisition target for another online travel agency,” Forbes warned on Nov. 28.

The infamous beauty product giant, which was once a household name, is now seeing red.

The use of “Avon ladies,” consumer-entrepreneurs who sell Avon products door-to-door, is no longer a viable selling strategy. The majority of women are no longer home all day to answer them.

Additionally, competition from other retailers is squeezing Avon out of the market. Retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (Nasdaq: ULTA) offer consumers a way to purchase high-quality products without the middleman. Online retailers, such as Amazon.com Inc. (NYSE: AMZN), pose another threat to Avon. According to a 2015 survey by EMarketer, 73% of consumers describe Amazon as their No. 1 destination for beauty products.

Avon has experienced diminishing revenue and profit for the past five years. The company announced depressing Q3 results in September, when both top and bottom-line numbers fell short of Wall Street hopes.

While Avon struggles, this once popular company is in even worse shape…

Sears could very well be the biggest train wreck America has seen in recent years, according to Lewitt. He says Sears’ CEO Eddie Lampert is responsible for the massive failure.

And he’s not alone. In 2012, Forbes declared that Lampert was the worst CEO in America and that he should fire himself.

In 2004, Sears was valued at $11 billion under Lampert. Now the company is valued at $1.6 billion, according to Reuters.

“2016 could well be the company’s final Christmas season,” Lewitt predicts. “At the rate it is going, by this time next year the stock could be trading at zero.”

The retail giant has experienced a decline of 38% in its share price over the course of the past year, and reported a net loss of $395 million in August. The company also has over $5 billion in debt.

The financials are bleak, and so are consumer attitudes towards the company.

“People only shop at Sears if they have to, not because they want to. Have you heard anybody talk about wanting to shop at Sears? That’s like saying they want to go to the dentist, or they want to have a colonoscopy. Sears is a shopper’s last choice. And that’s why it’s heading for the bone yard,” warns Lewitt.

We’re approaching the tail-end of 2016, which means quite a few things for businesses. Above all, however, this time of year signifies the need to begin preparing for the quickly approaching new year. Every new year is full of new opportunities, possibilities, and experiences; the businesses that will be able to capitalize on them will be driven by the right technology strategy.

It’s important that business leaders fully weigh their choices when it comes to the solutions and services they adopt. It’s never too early to begin forecasting what is to come in the ever-changing, always-advancing world of technology. In fact, now is the perfect time to begin strategizing if you have yet to do so in order to stay ahead the curve.

To that end, here are our top seven tech predictions for 2017:

1. Internet of Things (IoT)

It goes without saying, but the IoT market will continue its incredible growth trajectory into 2017. Not only did research firm Gartner predict last year that the IoT would consist of 4 billion connected devices this year—a 30 percent increase from 2015—but that this figure would climb to 20.8 billion by 2020. Needless to say, more objects and devices will become Internet-enabled (or gain connectivity capabilities), which will either lead to greater network strain and performance issues or more innovative operational capabilities, depending on what steps companies take.

2. Over-the-Top Technology (OTT)

Not only do we predict continued massive growth for the OTT services market (which is expected to experience a 17 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) between now and 2020), but we expect to see more emerging players in this space. Additionally, we expect to see more consumer-focused OTT messaging services (like Snapchat) become more business-centric.

3. 5G Technology

While it’s common belief that 5G won’t be publicly rolled out until around 2020, we believe that strategic developments will be released before then. As of right now, we’ve seen major players like AT&T reveal their plans to hopefully get the ball rolling in 2017. For example, in a recent presentation, AT&T SVP of Wireless Network Architecture and Design Thomas Keathley said that the company recently agreed on “a detailed work plan for Release-15, the first release of 5G specifications,” for next year.

4. Mobile Payments

Just about 20 percent of Americans currently use mobile pay solutions like Apple Pay or Samsung Pay; however, we expect that number to increase in 2017 as awareness of and trust in mobile payment services grows.

5. Value Chain Partnerships

As technology continues to advance, and as customer expectations grow, we expect to see more companies strategically collaborating in the form of value chain partnerships. More companies will identify and capitalize on this opportunity to support each other as needed in order to maximize operations and improve the customer experience (CX) (after all, the CX is becoming organizations’ greatest competitive differentiator today, if it isn’t already).

6. Digital Migration

When it comes to the topic of digitization, we like to let the numbers speak for themselves. Research shows that nearly 80 percent of businesses perceive digital transformation as their top strategic priority this year. We expect this figure to grow in 2017 as businesses work to restructure their core architectures and reprioritize their budgets to keep up in today’s digital era. One huge move we expect more companies to make next year: mass migration from archaic copper lines to digital frameworks.

7. Security

We expect to see the emergence of network security solutions that are designed to more optimally meet the needs of today’s next-generation networks. Considering the growing number of connected devices that leave networks inherently exposed or insecure, we expect this heightened level of security to better safeguard sensitive data and defend against all kinds of sophisticated hacking methods (i.e. DDoS, cyber extortion, etc.)

What do you expect to see for 2017? The more you know, the better prepared you’ll be.